Neighbor: Shooter in Alpharetta high-speed chase seemed troubled

FULTON COUNTY, Ga. - Several Channel 2 Action News reporters are working to find more information about the man accused of shooting an Alpharetta police officer during a traffic stop on Georgia 400 and a bystander.

Alpharetta police said officer David Freeman was shot five times during a traffic stop on South Main Street in Alpharetta.

Freeman was shot in the lower abdomen, shoulder, leg, elbow and grazed on his back. Police identified the suspect in the shooting as Curtis Hicks, of Marietta.

Channel 2's Ashley Swann spoke to police, who said both Freeman and the bystander are being treated at North Fulton Hospital. They are in stable condition.

Swann visited Hicks' neighborhood where neighbors gave her some insight into a man they say kept to himself and seemed to be having some problems.

Hicks lived right next to Janette Prado's mother, Estela, in this townhome community on Oak Harbor Trail. Her mother doesn't speak English, but said through her daughter that her always-quiet neighbor seemed to be struggling in recent weeks.

"She says that he was mentally ill in some ways. He would act really strange," Prado said.

"She said that he lost a lot of weight recently," added Prado. "He was very calm and serious, a person who kept to himself."

Prado said police came maybe a week ago asking about him and if her family had seen him.

Swann spoke to a member of the Oak Harbor Homeowner's Association, who confirmed police attempted to serve Hicks with papers for a lawsuit related to unpaid homeowner's fees. The group says Hicks owed thousands for years of unpaid dues. They even had his truck towed from the property a week ago.

A neighbor says they last saw Hicks Friday afternoon, hours before Alpharetta police say he was pulled over on South Main Street for an expired tag. Then he allegedly shot officer David Freeman five times.

During the chase that followed, Hicks continued to shoot at police and hit a female bystander on Highway 9, authorities said.

Finally they say he crashed his truck near the Northridge Road exit on Georgia 400 and came out still firing his gun.

"That's where we heard like four shots. And after that, it was like open gunfire. It was like 4th of July," said witness Tommy Holcomb.

Police said Hicks shot at and hit four patrol cars until he was shot and killed by police.

Channel 2 Action News has confirmed that one Roswell officer has been placed on paid leave pending the outcome of a GBI investigation. Five Alpharetta officers, including Freeman, have also been placed on paid leave, given the same conditions.